Apps Archive

We knew Google had the power to remotely remove Android apps -- Microsoft and Apple have backdoors into their mobile operating systems, too -- but it's always a little disconcerting to see a kill switch used. Such is the case today, as we've just heard Google unleashed the hounds this week, siccing bits and bytes of remote deletion power on a pair of "practically useless" but still Terms of Service-infringing apps. Curiously enough, Google admits that most who'd downloaded these programs had deleted them already, and that this "exercise" of the remote application removal feature was a "cleanup" operation. Google says users will get a notification beamed to their phone if an app is removed, however -- so as Big Brother as that all sounds, at least the company's being nice and transparent about the whole matter, eh?

Whether you were lucky enough to score an early delivery, blazed through a pre-order reservation line, or camped out all night, you're going to want to take full advantage of your hard-won new iPhone 4 once you get it home. As we said in our review, the core experience of using an iPhone hasn't changed too dramatically with iOS 4 and the new hardware -- it's instead been refined and extended with some new capabilities. That means you'll need to poke around a little and download some updated apps to really see all the benefits -- there's some fun stuff to uncover. So without further ado, let's run down the list of things to try and do with your new iPhone, as well as highlight some essential apps that'll let you get the most out of your new toy. Read on!